[Open-education] OER DIGEST - May 12, 2016

Thu May 12 14:30:06 UTC 2016

 From Ethan Senack, Student PIRGs | Volume 12 | May 12th, 2016
*

THE OER DIGEST*
Your tip sheet for U.S. OER updates, opportunities, and reminders

*PRICEY PROMISE:* The White House recently announced 
<https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/04/25/fact-sheet-white-house-launches-new-100-million-competition-expand> 
a $100 million "America's Promise" grant program though the Department 
of Labor to help community colleges create tuition-free education and 
job training programs. The program will be funded by revenue from an 
existing fee that's paid by employers who want hire skilled foreign 
workers. It's a creative way for the administration to further their 
goals around free community college, while avoiding the gridlocked 
Congressional appropriations and authorization process. The initiative 
draws strong comparison to the $2 billion TAACCT program, but without 
further detail, it's unclear whether or not any open licensing 
requirements would apply to these funds.*

TECHNOLOGY GAINS: *Non-profit Project Tomorrow released their annual 
Speak Up <http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/SU15AnnualReport.html> report 
last week, an analysis of how digital tools are impacting K-12 
classrooms and learning. This year's survey of more than 500,000 
students, teachers, and parents reveals some telling developments. Check 
out the full report for all their findings on digital learning tools, 
but here's a few interesting conclusions:

  * 78% of middle school students report using online videos for
    self-directed learning.
  * 57% of school principals say the lack of teacher training on how to
    integrate digital content within instruction is their top barrier.
  * 70% of teachers say they are reluctant to assign homework that
    requires Internet access because they are worried about students'
    at-home connectivity.

*MORE DATA ON DIGITAL:* The Association for Supervision and Curriculum 
Development and OneDrive are also out with a report on digital textbooks 
and other content in K-12 classrooms. The results of their survey of 
school and district administrators are available here. 
<http://www.ascd.org/professional-development/digital-content-trends.aspx>

*FRANKENS TIME: *Senator Al Franken introduced theCollege Access Act of 
2016 
<https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/2859/text> 
last month, which would create federal grant money for states that adopt 
a programs of reforms to increase access to higher education. The list 
isn't short, but included in the potential uses of funds is a provision 
for: "creating programs to create and expand the use of open educational 
resources, including open textbooks." Senator Franken is also the 
cosponsor of the Affordable College Textbook Act introduced last year, 
which focuses more heavily on OER. *
*

*FLASHBACK TO FULLERTON: *The Academic Senate at Cal State Fullerton is 
considering an revamp of their rules governing how course materials are 
assigned, after their policies gained national attention when a 
professor was reprimanded last year for refusing to assign a 
departmentally-chosen $180 textbook. Reviews are mixed - authors say 
that the rules establish clear procedures for selecting materials and 
improve systems to generate feedback, but critics say that the changes 
don't allow enough room for dissension or go far enough to keep 
decisions in the hands of faculty teaching the courses. Lily Leung at 
the OC Register has a great piece here 
<http://www.ocregister.com/taxdollars/rules-713894-textbook-faculty.html>, 
and will be publishing a follow-up article once the vote happens.*
*
**SNEAKING A PEEK:** Science Magazine 
<http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/04/whos-downloading-pirated-papers-everyone> 
looks at the server data from Sci-Hub creator Alexandra Elbakyan, and 
finds that the site is being used extensively by researchers around the 
world. In the 6 months between September 2015 and February 2016, the 
site received nearly 28 million download requests. The two most popular 
papers? An analysis of wind-turbine tests, and a genomic analysis of 
something beyond my limited genetics knowledge. The article also plots 
IP locations, and includes a fascinating interactive map of site usage*.****

STACKS ON STAX: ***OpenStax is launching a revamped Institutional 
Partnership Program to create cohorts of institutions that will work 
through and develop their OER strategic plans together. Read more here. 
<http://image.openstaxcommunication.org/lib/fe9713727766027974/m/1/Institutional+Partnership+Program+Application+Fillable+-+reduced.pdf?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=KIP+and+webinars+email+1+050416>***
*
**
*** Think your colleagues or friends might like the Digest? Send them 
this link: http://bit.ly/get-the-oer-digest ***

*It's Thursday, May 12th*. Ethan Senack here. DC is in what feels like 
our millionth straight day of rain; apparently, April showers didn't 
quite get the message. It's actually just 15 days, but we just set a 
record 
<https://weather.com/news/news/washington-dc-rain-consecutive-day-streak> for 
dreary. Send your sunny vibes this way with any OER tips, updates, or 
opportunities to esenack at pirg.org or @HigherEdPIRG.

*STORIES FROM THE FIELD:*
A brief snapshot of those making change on the ground level, and those 
most impacted
*
TEACHING TEACHERS: *Associate Dean Kristen Munger of SUNY Oswego is the 
co-author and editor of Open SUNY's new textbook on literary education. 
 From Oswego News 
<http://www.oswego.edu/news/index.php/site/news_story/literacy_textbook_online>: 
"All children—and all teachers—need and deserve quality preparation, 
Munger said. Specially targeting students learning how to practice 
literacy education and current educators seeking to stay up to date, she 
said, each chapter is written in accessible language and includes a 
summary, questions and activities designed to reinforce the material. 
[Munger] expressed delight that educators around the world can access 
and use the book: "One of the biggest motivations for me was being able 
to publish this under a Creative Commons license and make it available 
for free.”

*VIVA VIRGINIA:* The Virtual Library of Virginia announced that they're 
joining a growing list of schools in the Open Textbook Network this 
week. They're bringing with them 72 institutions from the state of 
Virginia. Read more> <http://timesync.gmu.edu/viva/?p=2114>
*
*
*SYLLABUS:*
Interesting Reads on Education and Open

*Vetting OER for the Common Core* (/an interview with Karl Nelson/) | 
T.H.E. Journal
https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/04/27/vetting-oer-for-the-common-core.aspx

*OER in Higher Ed: 'Huge Awareness-Raising Effort Needed'* (/an 
interview with Cable Green/) | Campus Tech
https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/04/21/oer-in-higher-ed-huge-awareness-raising-effort-needed.aspx

*Challenging Openness & Innovation – Takeaways from #OER16 & 
#OLCInnovate* | Chronicle of Higher Ed
http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/challenging-openness-innovation-takeaways-from-oer16-olcinnovate/62072

/(Pearson's Paid Op-Ed)/ *If OER is the answer, what is the question?* | 
Education Dive
http://www.educationdive.com/news/op-ed-if-oer-is-the-answer-what-is-the-question/417887/

/(and David Wiley's great response) / *OER: Some Questions and Answers* 
| Open Content Blog
http://opencontent.org/blog/archives/4529

-- 
Higher Education Advocate
U.S. Public Interest Research Group
www.uspirg.org
@HigherEdPIRG
(202) 546-9707 x321

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